Cast, Crew & Reviews - Lie-On King 2017

Cast List (in order of appearance)

T-Man – Chris Bishop

P-Body – Ros Tunbridge

Sim Barr – Vicky Biggs

Narla – Harriett Jackson

Narla’s Father – Neil Tunbridge

Narla’s Mother – Maureen Davey

Handel Barr – Jon Slade

Villager 1 / Agent 1 – John Hallahan

Villager 2 / Agent 2 – Rhianna Bucher-Jones

Zanzi Barr – Brian Turner

The Knight – Chris Bishop

Scar – Joe Crisfield

Itch – Jane Swale

Scratch – Theresa Hallahan

Flea – Andrew Mander

The Duck/ Postman/ Villager – Maggi Coen

Raff –elle – Simon Bucher-Jones

Gaz-elle – Becky Crisfield

The Crew

Director: Margaret Bishop

Musical Director: Sarah Coop

Technical Director: Steve North

Stage Manager: Nick Gane

Assistant Stage Manager:  James Quinn

Back Stage: Sue Ryder & Steve Bishop

Production Assistant: Sue Parker

Lighting & Sound: Steve North & Julie Montgomery

Band: Josh Hickin (keys), Chris Dixon (guitar), Des James (drums)

Sound Effects: John Mander

Prompt: Hazel Mason & Rosemary Stern

Props: Simon Bucher- Jones

Wardrobe: Bacardi (Barbarba Dent, Carol Griffiths & Diana Quinn)

Choreography: Becky Crisfield

Box Office: Rick Roberts & Vicky Biggs

Front of House:  Angie MacLean, Roger Brimble, Janet Brimble, Janice Stretton, Madeline Reeve, Simon Vines, Sarah Vines, Rick Roberts

Refreshments: Members of Purley United Reformed Church

Set Designer:  Tony Dent

Set Creation: Bob Goddard, Phil Rathbone, Alistair Kennard, Colin Burgess, Barbarba Dent, Carol Griffiths

Make Up: Barbarba Dent, Carol Griffiths,

Programme: Vicky Biggs & Graeme Tunbridge

Scenes

Act 1

Prologue

Scene 1:  The Town Square

Scene 2:  A Dark Back Street

Scene 3: Zzz’s Beds

Scene 4: The Elephant & Castle Junkyard

Scene 5: The Town Square

Act 2

Scene 1: The Town Square – The Lie-On King Fair

Scene 2: Outside ‘The Bunk Up’

Scene 3: UV Scene – Inside the bed shop

Scene 4: Zzz’s beds

Scene 5: Divine Divans

Scene 6: The Town Square – The Lie-On King Competition Medal Ceremony

Acknowledgements

Our thanks go to The Mitre Players & Colin Burgess (lighting equipment), Sanderstead United Reform Church (loan of chairs) and Sound effects courtesy of freeSFX www.freesfx.co.uk

Reviewed by Theo Spring

A traditional pantomime? Oh no it isn’t, although it does have the panto elements of a baddie, a dame, a principal boy and lots of interaction with the audience.

Does it have any resemblance to The Lion King of its implied title? Well yes, in an abstract way.

The convoluted tale revolves around a competition amongst sellers of beds to win the title The Lie-On King for which there is a cash prize of squillions of pounds. Naturally there are keen entrants and skulduggery to sabotage rivals. Thus we meet Scar and his evil team of hyenas, Itch, Scratch and Flea. As the panto’s  author and their malevolent boss, Joe Crisfield commands both the stage and his wicked team with force, plotting to send his hyenas onto the beds of his competitors to leave their gift of fleas in the mattresses and thus cause their disqualification. Scar has played this trick before although the blame fell on the recently deceased father of Sim Barr who is determined to clear his father’s name. With ebullience, Vicky Biggs as Sim succeeds, whilst also finding time to fall for Narla – Harriett Jackson using good panto presence. Brian Turner, Sim’s mother Zanzi Barr, has excellent ‘dame-ability’ but relies too often on the outworn gag of picking a chap from the audience to use for variable jokes throughout the show. Zanzi has another son too – Handel Barr – a brainy business type given seriousness by Jon Slade.

Narla’s parents, Neil Tunbridge and Maureen Davey, do not welcome Sim’s attachment to their daughter but do relent for a happy ending.

Adding to life in the town, which in this case is Croydon, Villager 1 and Villager 2 (John Hallahan and Rhianna Bucher-Jones) help to keep the plot boiling.

Sim, fortunately, has two guardian angels who, for some reason I could not fathom, speak in an American accent. Chris Bishop and Ros Tunbridge are T-Man and P-Body and deliver all their lines in some good rhyming couplets throughout the show.

Add to this melee the judge of the Lie-On Competition Raf-Elle, with Simon Bucher-Jones delivering his lines lugubriously; his elegant side-kick Gaz-Elle – Becky Crisfield who also choreographed the show, and a rather charming Duck (Maggi Coen).

Of the three cackling sycophantic hyenas who affect Australian accents – Jane Swale as Itch and Theresa Hallahan as Scratch, it was Andrew Mander as Flea who turned out to be a double agent, bringing about Scar’s downfall.

The scenery excelled. Croydon’s townscape, including a re-instated Reeves Corner, glowed, as did the bed and accessories in the UV scene. The band, under MD Sarah Coop, shined tunefully but were underused. Costumes were excellent, imaginative and colourful, created by the ladies trio,  known as Bacardi.

Finding her way through a rather complicated plot, the show was directed by Margaret Bishop. The Pantoloons, as always, donate sums to charity – this year they are the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation and the Epsom-based Meru.